Canada’s Desjardins lifts temporary halt on pipeline lending

Desjardins head office in Levis, QCCanadian lender Desjardins Group has lifted a moratorium on loans for energy pipeline projects, CBC News reported on Wednesday, citing Canadian Press.

Chief Executive Guy Cormier said the credit union would continue to live up to its agreements with energy companies after extensive consultations with supporters and opponents of the sector over the past four months, according to the report.

Desjardins was not immediately available for a comment outside regular business hours.

Desjardins, the largest association of credit unions in North America, will also invest in renewable energy projects and reduce the carbon footprint of its publicly traded portfolio, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

Desjardins said in July it was considering a temporary halt on pipeline funding, citing concerns about the impact such projects may have on the environment.

The credit union had previously agreed to lend to a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan Canada , owned by Houston-based Kinder Morgan Inc , for the expansion of Trans Mountain pipeline.

However, a coalition of indigenous and environmental groups in June called on 28 major banks to pull funding for Trans Mountain, citing the risk of pipeline spills and their potential contribution to climate change.

Desjardins will consult affected communities, including First Nations, before making a business decision, the lender said in the statement on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)